The tv series Arrow continues to go from strength to strength, with this week's episode offering everything you could ant, including secret identities revealed (even if the character hints that she already guessed!), some kick ass action sequences, some great revelations and character development and in the final moments the suprise introduction of a young Asian female named Shado, played by Hong Kong actress Celina Jade.
Jade is the daughter of Snake in the Eagles Shadow's Russian priest Roy Horan, and made a very impressive debut opposite Wu Jing in Legendary Assassin, and made a cameo in RZA's The Man with the Iron Fists as the Dragon Inn singer warbelling a song familiar to anyone who's seen John Woo's classic The Killer.
One finds oneself wondering about the casting of a Hong Kong actress in the role - surely it's no throwaway character. Arrow HAS played around with certain characters/character names in the episodes broadcast so far, with various familair names appearing even if not the exact way you'd expect: Ted Gaynor, Walter Steele, Felicity Smoake, The Royal Flush gang, even Oliver's bodyguard Diggle who is named after the writer of the DC Comics Green Arrow Year One...But while calling Celina's character Shado, MIGHT just be a throwaway reference...we did get a glimpse of a tattoo on her back, and Oliver seems to have a very similar one, could that mean something...
And just in case you don't know who Shado is in the comics: She's a vengeance-seeking archer and martial artist who first appeared in the comics in 1987. In the comics, Shado's purpose was to kill Americans who had disgraced her father and caused shame to fall on her family.Of course, Arrow will no doubt give the character a new, unexpected twist.
The question remains as to whether Shado will be a friend or an adversary for Oliver. In the comics, they were at odds, until Shado helped Oliver take down a villain who had captured Laurel. They ended up working together to take down several more formidable villains.
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